Several bolts of lightning strike across Mobile Bay during this 64 second exposure seen from the Grand Hotel Marina late Saturday, Aug 7, 2010 in Point Clear, Ala. as strong thunderstorms rolled along the Gulf Coast. (Press-Register file photo)

MOBILE, Alabama -- Power was knocked out for approximately
73,000 Alabama Power customers across the state -- including approximately
15,500 customers in the Mobile area -- after damaging winds hit the region in
the early morning hours Friday, according to the utility.

Crews started working to restore power around 4 a.m.,
although 1,900 remained without power as of 8:30 a.m., according to Alabama
Power. Of those, only 100 are in the Mobile area, said Alabama Power
spokeswoman Beth Thomas.

"We've been working overnight and through the morning
hours," Thomas said, noting that most of the remaining outages are
concentrated in the downtown area. The utility expects power to return to a
majority of its southeast Alabama customers by 2 p.m.

"We had some trees that fell, some wire that was on the
ground," Thomas said.

Around 2 a.m., the National Weather Service placed a severe
thunderstorm warning on Mobile and Baldwin counties as "prolific
lightening" moved across the region. On Thursday, forecasters put the
counties, along with nine others, under a severe thunderstorm watch.

"Lightning hit a tree, which fell and knocked off a
power box, but there was no fire," said Steve Huffman, public information
officer for the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. He said the agency responded to
a handful of other lightning-related calls, although they had no reports of
injuries.

"It was somewhat busy but nothing major," he said.

The weather is expected to stay pleasant in the aftermath of the storm, according to NWS forecasters. Mobile is expected to reach a high of 66 degrees today while Bay Minette and Gulf Shores are expected to reach 65 degrees.